


Put Your Boat In My Sand

by Biromantic_Nerd



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: 5 + 1 Things, Chapters go in linear order, Don't Post To Another Site, Don't copy to another site, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Platonic friendships, Season 3 Spoilers, Somewhere between canon compliant and canon divergence, but also Lucas/Max mentioned, but mostly canon compliant, starting in season 1 and ending post season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 08:52:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19808908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Biromantic_Nerd/pseuds/Biromantic_Nerd
Summary: "Noneof us know what to do." Lucas knocks his shoulder into Mike, and Mike turns to look at him. "But what I'msayingis: you don't have to do it alone."(Or, 5 times Lucas takes care of his friends + 1 time his friends take care of him)





	1. Lost In Long And Warm Ago

**Author's Note:**

> fic title: "I Was an Island" by A.W.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Eleven

Eleven just sits there in shock and like she doesn't even think to use the towel to help dry herself off.

And maybe she doesn't, Lucas realizes.

Maybe she's never been given a towel before, maybe she's used to dripping sadly in a cold lab room by herself until the water stops dripping or maybe it doesn't occur to her that she's allowed to take care of herself because she's been viewed as lab _property_ for her entire life. Maybe basic self autonomy is outside of her newfound grasp of freedom and is something she needs to be taught to discover.

Or maybe, Lucas thinks again, she's in shock. Watching her in the makeshift sensory deprivation tank had been - weird to say the least. And it certainly seems like it was hard on Eleven; she came up out of the water _sobbing_ and clutching onto Will's Mom's arm. Maybe she _is_ in shock. It's not unreasonable.

So El just sits there - maybe in shock or maybe not even registering fixing it as an option - soaking wet and not using the towel loosely draped around her to towel off.

And so Lucas lifts the towel just enough to get a handful and starts to rub it against El's soaked arm, trying to dry her off, trying to create some friction and warm her up. El's head doesn't even budge from where it leans on Mike's shoulder.

None of them say anything. They all just huddle together, connected by touch - Dustin's arm wrapped around Mike and El, Eleven's head resting on Mike's shoulder, Lucas' hand warming El's arm - connected and unified together.

Lucas deems her arm as dry as it's going to get and gently tucks the towel more securely around her instead of the loose drapery it had been.

_There_ , he thinks, _that's better_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucas literally does this in canon, and it makes my heart so warm. What a soft boi  
> chapter 1 title: Long And Warm Ago by Bill Anderson


	2. Hear The Ghosts Of Ever After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2: Mike

And then El dies.

Right in front of them.

Will's back - _Will's back_ \- but El is _dead_.

The three of them are so damn happy and so damn sad all at once, and it's a lot to process. A lot.

It only seems right to tell Will everything that happened while he was... away. (Dead. It had been a little easier for a while to call him that when they had figured out - when _El_ had figured out - that he was alive. But now? Now that El is _dead?_ The word prickles sharply in Lucas' own thoughts and he shies away from it all over again.)

And somehow, through the death and rebirth and death of their friends, time moves on. Their parents make casseroles. Their teachers have pop quizzes. Their classmates are _assholes_. The winter dance comes and goes. Christmas, New Years. The seasons change, the year changes. And suddenly it's almost like everything and everyone has moved on as best as they're capable of moving on.

Except for them.

Mike only gets angrier and angrier as time passes. Will has _episodes_ because it wasn't bad enough that he had to go through everything last year; now he has to relive it or some shit, and it's not _fair_ ; Lucas wants to scream and cry and ask Will how he stops himself from screaming and crying, like, _all the time_. Sometimes Dustin gets this _look_ while they're doing science labs, and the three of them all deliberately _do not_ look at where El _died_ right there in the front of the classroom and they absolutely do not point this out to Will even though the three of them can't forget it even though they're _trying_.

Time moves on; the four of them don't, but they're trying.

That's what Lucas thinks until one day he climbs down the Wheelers' basement steps with the intention of asking Mike a question that he doesn't even remember anymore because he finds Mike trying to communicate to Eleven with his walkie talkie like death can be overcome via radio waves.

"Oh shit," Lucas breathes out, accidentally aloud.

Mike's head shoots up. "How long have you been there?" He shoves the walkie talkie behind his back like an idiot who believes Lucas might not have seen what he's up to.

"How long have you been doing this?" Lucas counters and doesn't move from his spot where he has frozen, halfway descending the stairs, at the sight of _this_.

Mike's face scrunches in a fierce anger that might be on the borderline of one small step away from tears. "It's none of your business!" He spits, furiously and defensively. His surprise widened eyes narrow.

Lucas crosses his arms. "Uh huh," He says, completely unimpressed by this whole thing.

Mike's scowl deepens. "Shut up, Lucas."

"I didn't say anything." He points out but then continues, "But if I _did_ , it'd be 'are you seriously trying to tell me it's none of my business? Seriously?'"

Mike rolls his eyes and huffs angrily and finally removes the walkie talkie from where it's hidden obviously and awkwardly behind his back and sets it down beside him on the blanket. "Uh because it _isn't_ any of your business."

Lucas lifts his eyebrows and takes that as his cue to finish descending the stairs.

"Wha - what are you doing?" Mike asks in confusion, eyebrows furrowed angrily, like Lucas doesn't walk down that staircase almost every single goddamn day but today it's suspicious.

Lucas walks over to where Mike's sitting on the floor - on El's blanket hideout, God - and sits down beside him.

"We're here for you," Lucas reminds him.

"What the hell, Lucas?" Mike asks because he's an idiot. An _angry_ idiot.

"The Party," Lucas emphasizes slowly to help Mike understand. "We're here for you. Everything about what happened? Sucks. _Really_ sucks. You don't have to go off and be angry on your own. We're all angry - "

"No, Lucas, you're not!" Mike snaps. "And it doesn't just 'suck' - " He does sarcastic air quotes with his fingers. " - because El _died_. That's way beyond the level of _suck_. It's, like, way beyond suck, Lucas. It's shit. It's _shit_."

"Okay, it's shit," He agrees easily, and Mike's anger freezes in confusion for a moment at Lucas' calm demeanor. "You still don't have to do everything by yourself. We're a Party."

Mike frowns, but the anger is bleeding out of him and shapes into sadness instead.

"Yeah, but..." Mike shrugs, looks away, downcast. "Everyone's so happy because Will's back and - " His head lifts up quickly, eyes wide, as he hastens to add, " - and so am I! It's just..."

"It's just that El's gone too." Lucas nods knowingly. Mike sighs.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's exactly it."

Lucas looks up at the ceiling and contemplates the right words. "You know, we all miss her."

"Not like I do." Mike mutters, anger seeping back into his voice.

"Not like you do," Lucas agrees, and it seems to take Mike off guard. The anger that is his _constant_ default state of being nowadays softens into tired exhausted sadness.

"I don't know what to do."

" _None_ of us know what to do." Lucas knocks his shoulder into Mike, and Mike turns to look at him. "But what I'm _saying_ is: you don't have to do it alone."

Mike stares at him for a long, long time. And then the fight leaves his posture.

"Okay," He says, finally accepting help. "I won't do it alone."

Lucas smiles, bittersweet. "You can come to us when you feel like - " He gestures towards the walkie talkie; it's kinder than any way he would have phrased 'trying to talk to someone who is dead.'

Mike shakes his head. "You don't get it. This is something I _have_ to do, Lucas."

Lucas stares at his earnest, desperate face and sighs. "Fine. Whatever."

Mike smiles. "Don't tell the others?"

"About what?" Lucas asks, smiling back.

"About - about this."

"Again," Lucas lifts his eyebrows and stares pointedly at Mike, who's frowning. "About _what?_ " Mike opens his mouth, face somber and unwavering, and Lucas groans. "Mike, oh my God, I'm not going to tell anyone. _About_ _what?_ " He repeats, trying to sound as obvious and slow as possible because apparently sometimes Mike Wheeler can't take a hint.

" _Oh_." He realizes, finally understanding. His face settles, his entire body sags in relief. "Thanks, Lucas."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 2 title: Rage by Chumbawamba


	3. Sometimes There Have To Be Some Clouds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3: Dustin

Dustin sighs dramatically for the fifth time, and Lucas finally bites the bait because _seriously_. 

"Okay, what's up?" He asks, nudging his shoulder into Dustin's. Dustin startles, like he'd forgotten Lucas was sitting right next to him on the bleachers, so, maybe, he isn't actually trying to get Lucas' attention and just _really is_ that dramatic. 

Dustin's face crumbles into sadness. And his lip even wobbles. Lucas braces himself. 

"What am I gonna tell Steve?" He asks miserably. 

" _Huh?_ " Lucas blurts out because - _what?_ It's not at all what he'd been expecting him to say.

" _Steve,_ " Dustin hisses, reminiscent of a fluffed up and pissed off cat, "What am I supposed to _tell_ him?" 

Lucas desperately wishes that someone else from the Party was here because, again, what? 

"Harrington?" He asks to confirm a suspicion while eyeing Mike and El enviously from across the gym because they get to not be having this conversation; Max and Will have already gone, as has most of the school. If only Lucas could be that lucky. 

"No, Steven Tyler - _yes_ Steve Harrington." He rolls his eyes.

Lucas cannot think of a single reason why Dustin would be talking to Steve Harrington. He squints suspiciously at Dustin.

"Is he the one who did that to your hair?"

" _No_ , oh my _God_ ," Dustin groans. "Would you shut up already about my hair?" 

Lucas raises his eyebrows and gestures towards it. "Well, _look_ at it." 

Dustin scowls. "You're not goddamn helping, Lucas." 

"So he _did_ do that to your hair?" He guesses. 

Instead of snapping something back, Dustin sags. "Kind of? I mean, I did it, but he gave me advice."

" _Steve Harrington_ gives you hair advice?" Lucas asks in astoundment. He's pretty sure his jaw hits the gym floor. 

"Not that it did any good!" Dustin bemoans, face planting into his hands dramatically before looking up again at Lucas in despair. "And what am I supposed to tell him?" 

Lucas is so lost. Beyond lost. This conversation needs a map to get back into the realm of not being lost. 

"About...what?" He almost doesn't dare to ask but Dustin _does_ seem upset, if a bit overly dramatic. 

"I can't even get girls to like me when _Steve Harrington_ helps me, how lame is that? And now he's never going to give me advice again! And - and what do I say about _Nancy?_ "

"What about Nancy?" Lucas asks in bewilderment. 

Dustin is dumbfounded. "You - you didn't see?"

"See what?" 

"Nancy danced with me!" 

Lucas stares. Dustin preens.

"Shut up, no she didn't." Lucas laughs.

"Uh, yeah, she did too!" Dustin argues back. "Ask literally anyone who wasn't too busy staring into Max's eyes." 

"I wasn't - " Lucas breaks off as Dustin raises his eyebrows challengingly. "Okay, fine. So you danced with Nancy." 

"Yeah," Dustin says slowly like Lucas is an absloutely moron, "So what do I tell Steve?"

"He's not going to be mad because you danced with his girlfriend, oh my God." Lucas laughs and shoves at his shoulder lightly.

Dustin shoves back at him but doesn't laugh. "Uh, he might, since they're broken up." 

"What?" 

"Yeah!" Dustin nods quickly. "She's dating - " He looks around the nearly deserted gym quickly and lowers his voice like one of the few people here could hear him over the music, " - Jonathon."

" _Will's_ brother?" This time, Lucas is _sure_ that his jaw has dropped to the floor. "No way."

"Way," Dustin whispers eagerly. "They're keeping it under wraps though because like..." He trails off, embarrassed. 

"Oh shit." Lucas realizes. "Is that why she and Steve broke up?" 

Dustin nods franticly. "And Steve has been so _nice_ to me and drove me to the Snow Ball, and what do I do? I betray him, Lucas, I betray him! I danced with his ex-girlfriend!"

Dustin groans and begins to rub at his hair in distress before he yanks his hands away and then gingerly pats his hair back into place where he messed it up. 

"I have," Dustin says in total despair, "No clue what I'm going to tell him." 

"You could always...not tell him?" Lucas suggests, and Dustin glares at him. "Come on, like he's really going to be mad!"

"His _ex_ -girlfriend, Lucas! Who cheated on him!" 

"She really cheated on him?" He asks and tries to be subtle about staring at her. She's abandoned the punch bowl and is standing next to the photographer - who is Jonathon, Lucas realizes.

"You're totally missing the point but yes." 

"When did this happen?" Lucas squints at the two of them. They could, he supposes, be dating but they could also just be friends now.

"I don't know!" Dustin scoffs.

"Did Steve _say_ she cheated on him?" Lucas asks dubiously.

"What? No. Of course not." Dustin's quick to answer. 

"Then how do you know she cheated on him?" Lucas looks away from the pair and raises an eyebrow at him. 

"I - " Dustin pauses. His face scrunches in confusion. "I don't know. I just do."

"Okay, well, then maybe she didn't." Lucas shrugs. "And if Steve's willing to drive you to the Snow Ball, he probably won't be mad at you for dancing with his ex-girlfriend. Especially if she didn't cheat on him."

" _Huh_." Dustin pauses, dumbfounded, but then frowns. "But, Lucas, what if she _did_ \- "

"Oh my God, Dustin, even if she did, Steve's not going to be mad." Lucas hastens to interrupt. 

"You think so?" Dustin asks hopefully. 

"Yeah," Lucas nods. "I do."

"Huh," Dustin says again and then nods. "Yeah, okay. Yeah. Okay then!"

"Okay then." Lucas repeats, knocking his shoulder playfully into Dustin's. Dustin smiles and knocks his shoulder back into him.

"So, do you think Mike would, like, punch me if I asked El to dance?" Dustin wonders. "Like, as friends though?"

"Depends," Lucas looks at the mentioned couple, who have all night been busy gazing into each other's eyes and periodically kissing every now and then.

"On?" Dustin prompts after Lucas doesn't say anything else. 

" _On_ whether or not I distract him while you do it." Lucas smirks. 

Dustin laughs. " _Yes_ , come on!" And he stands up and grabs Lucas' hands to urge him to get up faster and then doesn't let go, guiding him to where El and Mike are awkwardly, adorably dancing together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 3 title: Anger by Elis


	4. Things, They Never Tend To Stay The Same

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4: Will

It's shockingly easy to forget that Will has pretty much missed out on _two years_ of his life. The first year because he was missing in the Upside Down and the second year because he spent the whole time either having what they thought were traumatic flashbacks but were actually glimpses into the Upside Down or by being possessed by the Mind Flayer.

So, yeah, Lucas _definitely_ feels like a total asshole.

It's not even that he doesn't like DnD - he does. It's just that he'd prefer to be spending that time with his girlfriend than with his friends, and, again, that sounds terrible when put into perspective of this being Will's first year of normalcy in three years. Well, it was _supposed_ to be his first year of normalcy because it's not bad enough that the Party has been all a bunch of assholes towards him; no, the Mind Flayer is _back_ on top of that so this makes the _third_ year in a series of messed up shit for Will.

"Uh, Will?" Lucas begins hesitantly, unsure of what exactly to say but knowing that he needs to say something, needs to fix what he and Mike broke thoughtlessly and cruelly. "Um, you know...about yesterday - "

"It's fine, Lucas." Will shuts down.

God, Lucas is such a dick.

"You don't have to say anything." Will continues, like Lucas is only doing this out of some sort of sense of obligation or something instead of genuinely wanting to make amends. Because that's the kind of friends they are now that Will thinks that. Because Lucas is a dick. So is Mike, but Lucas can't apologize for Mike, only himself - well he can, but he knows Mike should apologize as well, and - and when did everything get to this point? This - this mess of them just being total assholes and Will paying the price for it.

"I know, but it's just - " And Lucas pauses, trying to scrape together the right words to make Will understand how _sorry_ he is, how sincere he's being right now. "It was a really cool campaign." It was. It really, really was, and that's what makes it worse that Lucas and Mike had been such dickwads towards him. "And Mike and I, we never should have - "

"I don't care anymore," Will says. "I really don't. We have bigger things to worry about now." And, sure, maybe it's because he's more concerned about the return of the Mind Flayer, but maybe it's because he thinks Lucas doesn't really care. And the thought of that makes Lucas' heart sink in sadness and guilt and remorse, and he shouldn't have been such a shitty friend -

"This should hold him," Will says, like that's the only thing that matters now to him. Lucas _knows_ it isn't. Yeah, obviously, it's important - but Will can't be over it already, he _can't_ be.

"Hey... Will?" Lucas asks just as Will's turning to leave the pool's storage area. Will pauses but doesn't turn around to look at him.

Lucas takes a step forward and places a gentle hand on his shoulder. Will startles, instinctively looks at Lucas with wide eyes, craning his neck awkwardly to look over his shoulder.

Lucas smiles. "It _really was_ a cool campaign," He says again, softly and tenderly and trying to weave an apology in each word amidst the assurance of their friendship.

Will stares.

Lucas waits.

Will lowers his eyes, keeps his neck strained and awkward and doesn't move out of Lucas' grip as he says, as serious as always even though his words come out halting, "Um, yeah... Thanks."

Will waits. Neck poised awkwardly, half twisted to face Lucas but eyes looking down and away, and still gripping the heavy chains in his hands.

Lucas stares at him in consideration and then makes a decision.

He brings his arms up and wraps him into a hug; Will jolts and falls a little from his awkward stance, displaced into being a bit less contorted as he now faces Lucas more.

"I'm sorry," Lucas says into Will's shoulder.

Will slowly lifts trembling hands and then suddenly he's clinging on to the back of Lucas' shirt with a frantic grip, fabric creasing hard between his fingers. He tucks his head down against Lucas' neck and holds on tightly, long limbs coming down to Lucas' height to hug back desperately.

Tears trail down Lucas' neck, and he lifts a hand to Will's hair and pulls him closer.

"It really was a great campaign," Lucas sighs.

Will shudders against him as he laughs and sobs and tangibly holds on to their friendship with both hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 4 title: 7UP by Boys In Space


	5. Cry Again Over Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5: Max

Max drifts in an ocean of sadness and remorse and relief and anguish. He can see it happening, but they _all_ kind of exist in that state, so he doesn't really think anything of it. Not until they're at the arcade two months later and Steve Harrington comes to pick Dustin up and offers everyond a ride home, and Max bursts into tears. 

Everyone is surprised. 

"Uh. Or not?" Steve says hesitantly, like it's actually his fault or something that she's crying. 

El places a hand on Max's shoulder, eyebrows furrowing as she looks Max over searchingly, as if trying to discern where she's hurt. 

"Are you...okay?" Will asks worriedly, and the rest of the Party seems moments away from chiming in as well. 

"You guys go ahead," Lucas blurts out quickly as Max's head falls into her hands and she tries - and fails - to smother her loud tears into her palms. 

Dustin frowns and gestures towards Max with his hand as if to say, "How can you expect us to leave while _this_ is happening?" 

"Really," Lucas says. 

"O...kay," Steve Harrington agrees hesitantly, giving Max one last concerned look, and then begins to use his palms to herd the Party away. "You heard him, let's get a move on." 

Mike swats Steve's hand off of him. "Fine, whatever, God." 

"Are you...sure?" El asks Max directly, looking just as worried as before. Which makes sense because Max is still crying, so Lucas can't really blame her.

Max nods without even lifting her head. 

"Come on," Dustin says to El softly. "She'll be fine." 

Will lifts a hand silently in a sad sort of goodbye, and then all of the Party follows Steve Harrington out the door. 

Lucas places a hand on Max's shoulder. "Let's get out of here." And he guides her to the employee only break room without even bothering to ask Keith for permission. 

* * *

"What's wrong?" seems inadequate but it's the best Lucas has to offer so that's what he goes with.

"It's stupid," Max says, sounding upset and angry and hurting, "It's stupid."

"It can't be that stupid if you're crying," He reasons. 

She lifts her head from her hands and stares at him. And, yikes, she looks like shit. Lucas reaches out to offer a consoling hand for her to hold, but she doesn't take it, and he lets the hand fall uselessly back to his side. 

"It is stupid," She repeats, sounding sure. "I shouldn't even be crying, _God_ , what is wrong with me. He's been dead for months."

"This is about Billy?" Lucas asks, a little confused. 

"Yeah," She sniffles, wiping at her eye, "It's about Billy. I just - God, it's stupid - but sometimes I still expect him to be out there waiting in the parking lot, you know? Like he'll just be there to pick me up, but he's _not_ because he's _dead_." 

Lucas is stunned. Of all the things he's expecting, admittedly, it isn't this. Like, yeah, it makes _sense_ , but - 

But Lucas hadn't really thought about Billy since he died, to be honest. 

"And it's _stupid_ ," Max scoffs through her tears. "I - I shouldn't miss him this much."

"It's not stupid, Max." Lucas says softly even if he can't _really_ understand what it's like. Billy was an asshole - an abusive, racist _asshole_ \- but he died saving El, had died saving all of them. 

"It is." She wipes a hand across her nose messily. "It really is. It's just - it's not like this happened last year, when I would've been glad he died." 

Lucas kind of finds it hard to envision Max being glad _anyone_ died, but he doesn't voice this thought.

"But he wasn't as bad this year!" Max continues on, rubbing again at her eyes and then her nose because her tears won't stop. "He wasn't as bad! And he was sorry! And it wasn't his fault! And he wanted me to know he was _sorry_ \- "

Lucas lifts his hands and pulls her to his chest, her arm still wiping at her nose and now awkwardly trapped between them. Max starts to _wail_. 

"He was sorry! He wanted me to know!" 

"Shh," He says and leans his head on top of hers. He can feel her tears and snot running down in rivers and it's disgusting but mostly just heartbreaking. "Shh, Max." 

She clings on to him and cries and cries. 

"It wasn't his _fault_ , Lucas!" 

Lucas sighs. "No. It wasn't." 

She hiccups wetly into his shirt and leaves rivers of snot all over his jacket. Lucas holds her tight and doesn't let go. 

"It wasn't his fault," She whispers sometime later. Maybe it's been minutes or hours or days or years. Nothing matters outside of the two of them. 

"It's okay to be sad, Max." He assures her. 

"But - he hated you! He hated _me!_ I don't get why I have to be _so_ sad _all_ the time. And I feel like I don't deserve to mourn him now that - now that he's _dead_ since I couldn't stand him while he was alive, you know?" 

Even with all the Upside Down bullshit being over, it never really is _over_. It's always just them trying to move on the aftermath and inevitably failing.

Lucas presses a gentle kiss to the top of Max's hair. 

"It's okay. Really." He promises. 

He'll remind her of that as long as she needs him to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 5 title: Ghostin by Ariana Grande


	6. Friendship Is A Small Boat In A Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> +1: Lucas

"Come on, stalker." Max teases. "Just a little hop." 

"Okay, but don't laugh at me when I fall on my butt." He warns. 

"No promises," Max sing songs happily. 

Lucas kind of, sort of, does the hop. Max claps slowly and sarcastically. 

"One more try," Lucas quickly says and tries again. It goes better that time but it's still nowhere near as smooth as it's supposed to be, nothing like when Max does it. 

But Max nods at him like he did something cool, and he swears to himself to get so good at it that it'll sweep her off her feet. Totally knock her socks off. So he practices over and over and over - 

And then Max grinds down the railing of the steps and it looks ridiculously cool. 

"I can do that." Lucas says out loud even though he absolutely cannot do that and both of them know it. 

"Oh _really?_ " Max literally stops - placing her foot down on the concrete to halt her momentum completely - to turn around and lift a skeptical eyebrow at him. 

"Yeah really," Lucas playfully sneers. 

"I'd like to see you try!" She laughs. "You'd fall on your ass!" 

"You better be watching then! 'Cause I'm gonna do it, Max!" He calls out loudly. "You better watch!" 

"Oh I'm watching!" She assures him, sounding more than ready to see him fall on his ass. 

He doesn't fall on his ass.

He falls on his arm. 

* * *

Dustin is holding a goddamn bouquet of flowers. 

"Are you okay?" Mike asks worriedly.

"When does that thing come off?" Dustin asks and raps his knuckles against Lucas' cast; Max swats his hand away rapidly and without mercy even though Lucas definitely did not feel him do it. 

"Why did you get me flowers?" Lucas asks instead of answering either question. 

"What?" Mike peers at him closely before he realizes what Lucas is talking about; then he rolls his eyes. 

"Why...wouldn't I bring you flowers?" Dustin asks in utter and absolute confusion. Like it's completely normal and Lucas is the strange one.

"Why _would_ you?" Lucas counters incredulously. "I'm not dying!"

"Well, _excuse_ me, Lucas." Dustin's face scrunches in offended disbelief. 

"Guys," Max halfheartedly tries to stop them from what everyone knows is an inevitable argument. 

"And it's not like I'm even in the hospital anymore - "

"Uh, newsflash, _Lucas_ , it's because no one stays in the hopsital for a broken arm - "

"Exactly!" Lucas shouts. "So why do I need flowers?"

"Oh my God, _guys_ ," Max reproaches again, apparently fed up. 

"Maybe I was _worried_ , you asshole! You ever think of that?" Dustin shouts back at him. 

"You don't have to be worried! I'm fine!" Lucas throws both arms up, one way more clumsy and heavy than the other. 

"Hey, watch where you're swinging that thing." Max ducks away from the arcing swing of Lucas' cast. 

"Oh. Sorry." 

There's a moment of silence.

Dustin turns around. 

"Where are you going?" Mike sighs, looking one hundred percent done. 

"I'm throwing these - " He shakes the bouquet roughly, " - in the trash." 

Lucas narrows his eyes. "Don't you dare." 

"Oh, I dare." Dustin assures him. "You don't want them, sooooo - "

He goes to take a step out of Lucas' room. 

"I want the flowers!" Lucas admits. 

Dustin spins around with the widest grin on his face. 

"Hold these," He says and then thrusts them at Lucas, who scrambles to catch them with one hand. 

"Where are you going _now?_ " Mike asks.

"To get him a vase!" Dustin gleefully exclaims, already halfway down the hall. 

"Dumbass," Max mutters and runs one of her fingers delicately over a flower petal. "What even _are_ these?"

" _Such_ a dumbass," Lucas agrees and leans foward to sniff the flowers. "They're zinnias. My favorite." 

Mike stares at them both in utter disgust. "Yeah, _he's_ the dumbass," He says sarcastically. 

Max and Lucas look up at him. 

"What?" They both ask in perfect synergy. They look at each other, grin, and burst in to laughter. 

* * *

"You don't have to do this. I'm getting it removed next week," Lucas points out, feeling guilty as Will switches colors yet again with a sharply focused look in his eyes, like this is serious like it's life or death surgery or something and he needs to be exactly precise. It keeps taking him a long moment to decide which color to use because he only has the Sharpie choice of red, blue, brown, and black. 

It's not like Will and El are going to be here in Hawkins forever, and Lucas feels bad that Will is wasting his visiting time _and_ his Christmas time painstakingly decorating Lucas' cast. 

"And until next week," Will says with a small, determined smile but doesn't look up from where he's hunched protectively over Lucas' arm, "You can enjoy this." He decides on the blue pen and his whole face lights up as he continues working diligently. 

And Lucas does. For an entire week, he has Will and El with him even long after they've left because Will has drawn a little miniature Will and a little miniature El, both of them smiling and waving on Lucas' cast. It's too adorable for words. 

Sometimes Mike stares at the cast like he's contemplating whether or not it'd be worth breaking his own arm in order to have the drawings. Either that or he just wants El's wobbily signature on his person so much that he's considering breaking his own arm, and that's kind of pathetic in Lucas' opinion. It's not like El's handwriting is even good yet. If Mike wants to break his arm, he should at _least_ wait until she is capable of writing better than the average six year old, honestly. 

Lucas snorts at the thought.

"What?" Max asks, grinning. "What's so funny?"

"Mike," He says honestly, even if he does spare her the finer details of his thoughts. 

She cranes her neck to look at Mike thoughtfully. "Yeah, true." 

"Oh my God, shut up," Mike says, scowling but not really mad - Lucas can tell. 

Dustin flicks an M&M at his head. 

"Hey!" Mike runs a frantic hand through his hair in order to ensure it gets out. 

Dustin grins. "Who wants to bet I can do it again?"

"Oh, I'll take that bet," Max nods eagerly, eyeing Mike in gleeful contemplation like she doesn't care if she loses because that means Dustin will have won and thus have hit him again with an M&M. 

Lucas laughs, bright and loud and free. 

Dustin screeches when Mike starts throwing handfuls of popcorn at him. "Mike, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" 

"You're _gonna_ be sorry!" Mike assures him, grinning and using his height to his advantage as Dustin tries to flee. 

"Uh, no, no, no, no - " Max chants when Dustin tries to hide behind her. Mike gets the both of them, and he laughs maniacally and way too over dramatically as Dustin and Max shriek like they've been dealt a mortal blow and not just salt and butter with inflated corn.

"Lucas!" Dustin pleads, "Lucas, help!" 

Lucas stands up, grin wide. 

Max's eyes widen. "Lucas, _no_ \- " 

The sound of shrieks and giggles continue erupt as they seige war upon each other, laughing all the while.

And Lucas is _happy_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 6 title: Friendship Is A Small Boat in A Storm by Chicano Batman


End file.
